Madhya Pradesh Vote Theft Scandal: Congress Unleashes Bombshell Allegations on 2023 Polls

The political landscape of Madhya Pradesh is once again abuzz with controversy as the Congress party has escalated its allegations of widespread "vote theft" during the 2023 Assembly elections. At a press conference in Bhopal, senior Congress leaders, including State President Jitu Patwari and media department chairperson Shobha Oza, unveiled a dossier of alleged irregularities, demanding immediate intervention from electoral authorities and the judiciary.

At the heart of the Congress's accusations is the startling claim that approximately 16 lakh (1.6 million) new voters were added to the electoral rolls in a mere two months, between October 10 and November 10, 2023, just before the state went to polls.

Patwari described this sudden surge as "mysterious," especially when compared to the 2018 elections where the BJP secured victory by a narrow margin of just 0.13% votes.

The party also highlighted the curious disappearance of about 6.5 lakh voters from the final voters' list compared to the draft published on October 4, 2023.

These discrepancies, Patwari argued, raise serious questions about the integrity of the electoral process, particularly in 27 specific constituencies where the party alleges the "vote theft" was most pronounced. These seats include crucial areas within the Malwa and Baghelkhand regions.

Further deepening their concerns, the Congress leaders pointed out that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had initially allowed the state to use 7,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

However, they claim that EVMs from Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) were ultimately deployed in the elections, a change that the Congress finds suspicious and unexplained. "Why were ECIL EVMs used when permission was granted for BEL? Why was the final voters’ list not published on the Election Commission website?" questioned Shobha Oza, echoing the party's demand for transparency.

The Congress's detailed complaint, reportedly spanning 70 pages, is set to be presented to the Election Commission of India and subsequently the Supreme Court.

The party's legal team is preparing to challenge the legitimacy of the results in these contested seats, citing not only the voter list anomalies but also alleged instances of duplicate voters, discrepancies in voter IDs, and mismatched photographs on the rolls.

Drawing parallels, Patwari referenced a 2018 Supreme Court judgment that mandated a physical count of VVPAT slips in five randomly selected polling stations per constituency, arguing that the intent was to ensure greater transparency.

The Congress asserts that the cumulative effect of these alleged irregularities could have significantly altered the outcome of the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, which saw the BJP secure a decisive majority.

The Congress's aggressive stance underscores a growing national debate on electoral integrity and the need for robust mechanisms to address concerns about voter list accuracy and EVM transparency.

As the allegations unfold, all eyes will be on the responses from the Election Commission and the judiciary, which hold the key to addressing these profound questions about the sanctity of India's democratic process.